When was the last time you wrote a list of things you wanted to do, rather than things you had to do?
We're all guilty of it. The never-ending to-do lists, the life admin, the emails to reply to, the jobs around the house. Before you know it, we're another week down and you've spent most of it ticking things off a list that never gets any shorter.
But what about the good stuff? The fun? We're so good at making plans for everything we need to get done, but somehow the things that actually make us feel happy are often the first things we are so quick to dismiss. Which is exactly why I love the idea of a ‘to-joy’ list. At the start of each month, write down five things you'd genuinely love to do. Not things you should do, or things that will make you more productive, things that make you smile and fill you with excitement.
That could look like dinner with the girls, baking a cake on a Sunday or trying that new coffee shop you saved months ago on Instagram. Or just a lazy day with a book and nowhere to be. Nothing needs to be flash, expensive or impressive. That's the beauty of it.
Why do we always put the fun stuff last?
Somewhere along the way, I think we've become so focused on getting everything right, achieving our goals and trying to be super productive that we've forgot how to just enjoy ourselves. We tell ourselves we’ll book that dinner when works calms down, or we'll make plans when the house is sorted. Sound familiar?
The thing is, there's always something else to do. And if we keep waiting for the perfect moment, we might be waiting a very long time. Through my work as a wellness coach, I often talk about letting go of perfectionism and learning to celebrate the little things, not just the big achievements. And that's exactly what a to-joy list is about. It's a reminder that not everything we do needs to be productive or have a purpose or lead to some bigger goal.
Sometimes doing something simply because it makes us happy is the reason to do it. Why would we deprive ourselves of that?
Put a little joy in the diary
There something lovely about having a few things to look forward to each month, however small. So next time you sit down with your diary or notebook, ask yourself: What would make this month a great one? Write down five things, and if you can, just pop a couple of them in the diary, right alongside the deadlines, meetings and appointments you'd never dream of striking off.
And if you don't manage everything on your list? Who cares. This isn't about ticking more boxes. It's about making a little more space for the good stuff.
A little less doing, a little more living
As we head towards the end of another year, it's easy to get caught up thinking about everything we haven't done. The goals we haven't reached, the plans we never quite got around to. But what if we started looking back on our months a little differently? The new places we discovered, the conversations that made us laugh until we cried, the things we tried for the first time, and those unexpected moments that turned out to be the best parts of our week.
Because really, isn't that what it's all about? A full life doesn't have to mean a full diary. Sometimes, it just means making a little more room for joy.
